Uganda

Travelling on rough roads to see big game

date of entry 26/02/1989

mileage 12,602

capital Kampala

area 241.040 km²

population 34.509.205

GDP 11.227 M. US-Dollar

official language English/Swahili

Uganda is a fertile country which suffered under the dictatorship of Idi Amin for many years. It has now become more stable politically and is experiencing a modest economic upturn. The Holtorfs have also seen this for themselves on numerous visits with Otto. They were particularly fascinated by the large numbers of animals roaming freely through the savannah in the national parks. The former British colony is a mainly Christian country. Only in the north along the border with South Sudan is there a large Muslim minority.

Here he crossed one of the better bridges in the country with Otto.

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Otto visited Uganda several times from 1989. The country offers both vast savannah grasslands and rainforests.

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Even busy roads here were often in a rather poor state. Yet Otto coped with this situation easily.

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Through the south of the country runs the Equator, which Gunther Holtorf and Otto crossed countless times on their travels.

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On the dead-straight road the savannah of East Africa slowly gives way to the rainforest of Central Africa.

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Many of the local inhabitants subsist on arable farming and animal husbandry. In 2003 some 82 per cent of the population earned less than one US dollar per day.

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Ankole longhorn are the most common breed of cattle in the south and west of the country. They produce little milk, but provide meat of very good quality.

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The huge horns are even bigger on female animals than on males.

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In the early 1990s Uganda was a paradise for wildlife photographers. Gunther Holtorf managed to photograph elephants ...

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... who watched him closely, flapping their big ears as a warning.

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He photographed giraffes ...

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... the nimble kob antelope …

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... as well as their young.

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He got particularly close to the colobus monkey.

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These sociable animals are herbivores.

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One of Uganda’s many tea plantations. Hundreds of workers picked the various tea leaves there all day long.

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The women of a village crushed grain or nuts, the staple foods in many parts of the country.

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After rainfall most of the inland tracks turned into mudholes. Often Otto managed to get through only having worked up plenty of steam.

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As in many parts of Africa women in particular convey heavy loads on their heads.

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It takes experience to keep your balance while walking.

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Young girls also transport heavy loads in this way. Gunther Holtorf saw few men, on the other hand, doing this.